Fate of individual sewage disposal system wastewater within regolith in mountainous terrain

In order to improve understanding of the fate of septic tank or individual sewage disposal system (ISDS) effluent in regolith overlying fractured-rock aquifers, effluent from an ISDS in such a setting was tracked via geophysical, hydrological, and geochemical methods. Under typical precipitation conditions, the effluent entered the fractured bedrock within 5 m of the boundary of the constructed infiltration area. During a period of unusually high spring recharge, the plume migrated between 50 and 100 m within the regolith before infiltrating the fractured bedrock. The chemical signature of the effluent is similar to that required to account for the decline in water quality, suggesting a causative relationship (as estimated from mass-balance models of the surface-water chemistry near the mouth of the basin). The elevated salt content of the effluent during periods of high natural recharge to the infiltration area correlates with elevated salt concentrations in surface and groundwater at the basin scale, suggesting that some of the effluent salt load may be stored in the unsaturated zone during dry periods and flushed during periods of elevated natural recharge.     

Reconstructing nutrient histories in the Norfolk Broads, UK: implications for the role of diatom-total phosphorus transfer functions in shallow lake management

The fossil diatom records preserved in radiometrically dated sediment cores from four shallow lakes in the Norfolk Broads, UK (Barton Broad, Rollesby Broad, Wroxham Broad and Upton Broad) were analysed. A weighted-averaging partial least squares (WA-PLS) diatom-total phosphorus (TP) transfer function, based on a training set of 152 mostly shallow (maximum depth < 3 m) lakes in northwest Europe, was applied to the full diatom dataset for each core to reconstruct the past TP concentrations of the lakes. Owing to the dominance of non-planktonic Staurosira, Pseudostaurosira and Staurosirella spp. (formerly classified in the genus Fragilaria) throughout the diatom records, the quantitative diatom inferred TP (DI-TP) concentrations did not adequately reflect the changes that occurred in the lakes as indicated by shifts in the other diatom taxa, or as reported in the literature. This was most apparent at Barton Broad and Rollesby Broad, where there was a marked increase in the importance of planktonic taxa associated with highly nutrient-rich waters but no increase in DI-TP. The modern and fossil data were thus square-root transformed to downweight the dominant taxa and the new transfer function was applied to the cores. An improvement was seen only in the reconstruction for Barton Broad. Finally, the Staurosira, Pseudostaurosira and Staurosirella spp. were removed from the modern and fossil diatom data, and the transfer function was re-applied. The trends in DI-TP became less clear, particularly for Upton Broad and Barton Broad, owing to a paucity of data for calibration once these taxa were deleted from the counts data. The problems associated with reconstructing trophic status and determining TP targets for restoration from fossil diatom assemblages in these systems are discussed.     

Common cause or common concern? The role of common lands in the post-productivist countryside

Summary The aim of this paper is to contribute towards a better understanding of the contemporary position of commons as a land resource, and to evaluate whether commons have a distinct role to play in today's 'post-productivist' countryside. Following the government's recent recognition of the multi-functional role of commons, the paper sets out to investigate whether this can be achieved through existing agri-environmental schemes. A case study of commons in the Cambrian Mountains (Wales) enables an assessment of the compatibility of one recent agri-environmental scheme, the ESA scheme, with commons management. It is concluded that new legislation and policy are needed, and that agri-environmental policy may provide an opportunity to develop a framework within which the management of common land can be improved to meet conservation and amenity as well as farming objectives.     

Reviews

GEOMORPHOLOGY by R. J. Chorley, S. A. Schumm and D. E. Sugden.’ 19 × 25 cm, xxiii and 605 pages. Methuen: London 1984 (ISBN 0 416 32590 4) $A39.95 (cloth).

THEMES IN GEOMORPHOLOGY edited by A. F. Pitty. 13 × 21 cm, 280 pages. Croom Helm: London 1985 (ISBN 0 7099 2066 0) $A49.50 (cloth).

DESERTS AND ARID LANDS edited by F. El‐Baz. 16 × 25 cm, vi and 222 pages. Nijhoff: The Hague 1984 (ISBN 90 247 2850 9) $US46.00 (cloth).

COASTAL GEOMORPHOLOGY IN AUSTRALIA edited by B. G. Thorn. 16 × 24 cm, xv and 349 pages. Academic Press: Sydney 1984 (ISBN 0 12 687880 3) $A49.50 (cloth).

KWONGAN: Plant Life on the Sandplain edited by J. S. Pate and J. S. Beard. University of Western Australia Press: Nedlands 1984 (ISBN 0 85564 230 0) $A25.00 (limp).

THEMES IN BIOGEOGRAPHY edited by J. A. Taylor. 22 × 14 cm, xxvii and 404 pages. Croom Helm: London 1984 (ISBN 0 7099 2428 3) $A25.95 (limp).

ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT ASSESSMENT: A Practical Guide by C. F. Porter. 22 × 15 cm, xiii and 269 pages. University of Queensland Press: St Lucia 1985 (ISBN 0 7022 1699 2) $A35.00 (cloth).

THE CLIMATIC SCENE edited by M. J. Tooley and G. M. Sheail. 16 × 24 cm, xx and 306 pages. George Allen and Unwin: London 1985 (ISBN 0 04 551089 X) $A59.95 (cloth).

VOLCANIC HAZARDS: A Sourcebook on the Effects of Eruptions by R. J. Blong. 24 × 15 cm, xvi and 424 pages. Academic Press: Sydney 1984 (ISBN 0 12 107180 4) $A68.00 (cloth).

THE ECONOMICS OF BUSHFIRES: The South Australian Experience edited by D. T. Healey, F. G. Jarrett and J. M. McKay. 22 × 15 cm, x and 152 pages. Oxford University Press: Melbourne 1985 (ISBN 0 19 554669 5) $A19.99 (cloth).     

Timing and pace of ice-sheet withdrawal across the marine–terrestrial transition west of Ireland during the last glaciation

Understanding the pace and drivers of marine-based ice-sheet retreat relies upon the integration of numerical ice-sheet models with observations from contemporary polar ice sheets and well-constrained palaeo-glaciological reconstructions. This paper provides a reconstruction of the retreat of the last British–Irish Ice Sheet (BIIS) from the Atlantic shelf west of Ireland during and following the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM). It uses marine-geophysical data and sediment cores dated by radiocarbon, combined with terrestrial cosmogenic nuclide and optically stimulated luminescence dating of onshore ice-marginal landforms, to reconstruct the timing and rate of ice-sheet retreat from the continental shelf and across the adjoining coastline of Ireland, thus including the switch from a marine- to a terrestrially-based ice-sheet margin. Seafloor bathymetric data in the form of moraines and grounding-zone wedges on the continental shelf record an extensive ice sheet west of Ireland during the LGM which advanced to the outer shelf. This interpretation is supported by the presence of dated subglacial tills and overridden glacimarine sediments from across the Porcupine Bank, a westwards extension of the Irish continental shelf. The ice sheet was grounded on the outer shelf at ~26.8 ka cal bp with initial retreat underway by 25.9 ka cal bp. Retreat was not a continuous process but was punctuated by marginal oscillations until ~24.3 ka cal bp. The ice sheet thereafter retreated to the mid-shelf where it formed a large grounding-zone complex at ~23.7 ka cal bp. This retreat occurred in a glacimarine environment. The Aran Islands on the inner continental shelf were ice-free by ~19.5 ka bp and the ice sheet had become largely terrestrially based by 17.3 ka bp. This suggests that the Aran Islands acted to stabilize and slow overall ice-sheet retreat once the BIIS margin had reached the inner shelf. Our results constrain the timing of initial retreat of the BIIS from the outer shelf west of Ireland to the period of minimum global eustatic sea level. Initial retreat was driven, at least in part, by glacio-isostatically induced, high relative sea level. Net rates of ice-sheet retreat across the shelf were slow (62–19 m a⁻¹) and reduced (8 m a⁻¹) as the ice sheet vacated the inner shelf and moved onshore. A picture therefore emerges of an extensive BIIS on the Atlantic shelf west of Ireland, in which early, oscillatory retreat was followed by slow episodic retreat which decelerated further as the ice margin became terrestrially based. More broadly, this demonstrates the importance of localized controls, in particular bed topography, on modulating the retreat of marine-based sectors of ice sheets.     

Occurrence and seasonal variations of algal toxins in water, phytoplankton and shellfish from North Stradbroke Island, Queensland, Australia

A number of marine microalgae are known to produce toxins that can accumulate in shellfish and when eaten, lead to toxic and potentially fatal reactions in humans. This paper reports on the occurrence and seasonal variations of algal toxins in the waters, phytoplankton and shellfish of Southeast Queensland, Australia. These algal toxins include okadaic acid (OA), domoic acid (DA), gymnodimine (GD), pectenotoxin-2 (PTX-2) and pectenotoxin-2-seco acid (PTX-2-SA), which were detected in the sampled shellfish and phytoplankton, via HPLC-MS/MS. Dissolved OA, PTX-2 and GD were also detected in the samples collected from the water column. This was the first occasion that DA and GD have been reported in shellfish, phytoplankton and the water column in Queensland waters. Phytoplankton tows contained both the toxic Dinophysis and Pseudo-nitzschia algae species, and are suspected of being the most likely producers of the OA, PTX-2s and DA found in shellfish of this area. The number of cells, however, did not correlate with the amount of toxins present in either shellfish or phytoplankton. This indicates that toxin production by algae varies with time and the species present and that number of cells alone cannot be used as an indicator for the presence of toxins. The presence of OA and PTX-2s were more frequently seen in the summer, while DA and GD were detected throughout the year and without any obvious seasonal patterns.     

The stable isotopic composition (Cl/Cl) of dissolved chloride in rainwater

The stable isotopic composition of dissolved Cl^-${\text{Cl}}^{-}$ in rainwater was measured from a coastal and an interior location in eastern Canada. At the interior Bonner Lake, Ontario, site the δ³⁷Cl values of dissolved Cl^-${\text{Cl}}^{-}$ in precipitation ranged from −3.5‰ to −1.2‰ (SMOC) with an amount-weighted annual average of −2.3‰. At the coastal site, Bay D’Espoir, Newfoundland, δ³⁷Cl values of dissolved Cl^-${\text{Cl}}^{-}$ values ranged from −3.1‰ to 0.0‰ with an amount-weighted annual average of −1.3‰. These negative δ³⁷Cl values provide evidence that atmospheric HCl is ³⁷Cl depleted, presumably from acidification of sea-salt aerosols. Accordingly, dissolved Cl^-${\text{Cl}}^{-}$ in the headwaters of two montane rivers in Western Canada had similarly depleted δ³⁷Cl values. These results have implications to the interpretation of the isotopic compositions of dissolved Cl^-${\text{Cl}}^{-}$ in surface waters, formation fluids, and groundwaters.     

Simple stochastic modelling of the eruption history of a basaltic volcano: Nyamuragira,Zaire

Three simple models of the behaviour of a series of basaltic eruptions have been tested against the eruptive history of Nyamuragira. The data set contains the repose periods and the volumes of lava emitted in 22 eruptions since 1901. Model 1 is fully stochastic and eruptions of any volume with random repose intervals are possible. Models 2 and 3 are constrained by deterministic limits on the maximum capacity of the magma reservoir and on the lowest drainage level of the reservoir respectively. The method of testing these models involves (1) seeking change points in the time series to determine regimes of uniform magma supply rate, and (2) applying linear regression to these regimes, which for models 2 and 3 are the determinsstic limits to those models. Two change points in the time series for Nyamuragira, in 1958 and 1980, were determined using a Kolmogorov-Smirnov technique. The latter change involved an increase in the magma supply rate by a factor of 2.5, from 0.55 to 1.37 m³s^-1. Model 2 provides the best fit to the behavior of Nyamuragira with the ratio of variation explained by the model to total variation. R², being greater than 0.9 for all three regimes. This fit can be interpreted to mean that there is a determinstic limit to the elastic strength of the magma reservoir 4–8 km below the summit of the volcano.     

Late Cenozoic alkaline volcanism in the northwestern Caribbean: tectonic setting and Sr isotopic characteristics

A province of alkaline volcanism has developed over the last 10 m.y. in the northwestern part of the Caribbean plate. Most of the volcanism is Quaternary in age and follows an apparent halving of the spreading rate at the Cayman Rise spreading center 2.4 m.y. ago. Intraplate deformation in Central America and the Nicaraguan Rise has produced a series of north-south orientated grabens. This extensional tectonism is associated temporally and spatially with some of the alkaline magmatism. Strontium isotopic ratios of rocks from sixteen of these centers of volcanism enable three separate areas with different isotopic characteristics to be identified. The largest area corresponds to the Nicaraguan Rise and is characterized by low⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr ratios (0.7026–0.7031). A more concentrated area of alkaline magmatism in northeastern Costa Rica has intermediate⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr ratios (0.7036–0.7038) which are within the range shown by the adjacent calc-alkaline volcanoes. In central Hispaniola high⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr ratios (0.7047–0.7063) are found in strongly alkalic rocks and in rocks that are transitional to calc-alkaline in nature. In both Costa Rica and Hispaniola the increased radiogenic strontium may have come from volatile-rich fluids escaping from adjacent subducting slabs of oceanic crust. The isotopic differences between the two areas may be related to the relative longevity and high rate of subduction in Costa Rica compared to Hispaniola. The Costa Rican alkaline rocks overlie a segment of the Cocos plate which is being subducted at a smaller angle (～ 35°) than at the rest of the Central American arc.     

Centrifuge modeling of load-deformation behavior of rocking shallow foundations

Shallow foundations supporting building structures might be loaded well into their nonlinear range during intense earthquake loading. The nonlinearity of the soil may act as an energy dissipation mechanism, potentially reducing shaking demands exerted on the building. This nonlinearity, however, may result in permanent deformations that also cause damage to the building. Five series of tests on a large centrifuge, including 40 models of shear wall footings, were performed to study the nonlinear load-deformation characteristics during cyclic and earthquake loading. Footing dimensions, depth of embedment, wall weight, initial static vertical factor of safety, soil density, and soil type (dry sand and saturated clay) were systematically varied. The moment capacity was not observed to degrade with cycling, but due to the deformed shape of the footing–soil interface and uplift associated with large rotations, stiffness degradation was observed. Permanent deformations beneath the footing continue to accumulate with the number of cycles of loading, though the rate of accumulation of settlement decreases as the footing embeds itself.